Food Allocation

Question 1

What is the current food production expectancy?

Answer 1

The current food production is expected to feed the earth’s projected population up until 2050

Question 2

Amartya Sen

Answer 2

Studied famines and came to the conclusion that most of the time, the main issue was food allocation issues

Question 3

Irish famine

Answer 3

• Food was being exported out to the british
• Up to 75% of agricultural land was devoted to exportated crops

Question 4

How do we currently allocate food?

Answer 4

• Dictated if you have the means to pay
• Food is treated as a private good
• Market-based system globally
• In a local market, price is set by buyers and sellers who act in self interest

Question 5

Labour conditions

Answer 5

• 471,000 UK agricultural workers
• Only 3.3% are UK nationals
• Forign workers face exploitation and modern slavery

Question 6

Mexico and The USA

Answer 6

• Mexico has 64 crop races with 21,000 varieties.
• 99% of US crops are a single variety
• US bayer and Corteva control 70% of corn seeds
• !994 NAFTA led to USA farmers being subsidised putting mexican farmers out of business as they took away local demand

Question 7

Difference between food security and soveriegnty?

Answer 7

Security is focused on having access to markets while Soveriegnty is focused on local people being able to feed themselves

Question 8

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Answer 8

• Local goverment of 6 million people, declared food to be a human right
• Made cheap and healthy restuarant chains, free school, hospital and care home meals
• All supplied by local farmers
• Created community garden

Question 9

What power and influence do large cooperations have?

Answer 9

• Influences seed access and availblity
• Type of crops grown
• Breeds of livestock
• Working conditions
• Prices

Question 10

What is important to large cooperations?

Answer 10

Self-interest needs of share holders rather than the public interests

Question 11

2018

Answer 11

Top four firms controlled 70% of the pesticide market and 60% of the global seed market

Question 12

How do giant firms have power over working conditions and labour compensations?

Answer 12

• Merging firms can contribute to job losses
• Goverment may be influenced as firms are big employers
• Goverments may fund scientific researches